Hans Abbing Why Are Artists Poor? The Exceptional Economy of the Arts Amsterdam University Pr e s s Most artists earn very little. Nevertheless, there is no shortage of aspiring young artists. Do they give to the arts willingly or unknow- ingly? Governments and other institutions also give to the arts, to raise the low incomes. But their support is ineffective: subsidies only increase the artists’ poverty. The economy of the arts is exceptional. Although the arts oper- ate successfully in the marketplace, their natural affinity is with gift-giving, rather than with commercial exchange. People believe that artists are selflessly dedicated to art, that price does not reflect quality, and that the arts are free. But is it true? This unconventional multidisciplinary analysis explains the exceptional economy of the arts. Insightful illustrations from the practice of a visual artist support the analysis. Hans Abbing is a painter, a photographer and an economist. As an economist he lectures at the Fa c u l t y of History and Arts at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Who but Hans Abbing could write such a book, combining penetrating economic analysis and a studio-level grasp of what’s really going in the art world? And it is openhandedly written, accessible to lay people of all sorts? Whether non- economists or non-artists. A triumph, and a sure best-seller. Deirdre McCloskey Proffesor of Economics, University of Illinois at Chicago PostScript-illustratie (ISBN 90-5356-565-5) A m s t e r d am Univ er sity Press w w w . a u p . n l abb. 25-03-2002 12:22 Pagina 1 Why Are Artists Poor? Why are artisits poor? 02-04-2002 12:15 Pagina 1 Why are artisits poor? 02-04-2002 12:15 Pagina 2 Why Are Artists Poor? The Exceptional Economy of the Arts Hans Abbing Amsterdam University Press Why are artisits poor? 02-04-2002 12:15 Pagina 3 Photo front cover: Hans Abbing, Amsterdam Cover design: Joseph Plateau, Amsterdam Lay-out: Adriaan de Jonge, Amsterdam ISBN 90 5356 565 5 NUGI 911/651  Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam, 2002 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book. Why are artisits poor? 02-04-2002 12:15 Pagina 4 Table of Contents Preface 11 1 Sacred Art Who Has the Power to Define Art? 17 1 Art is What People Call Art 18 2 Cultural Inferiority and Superiority Color the Economy of the Arts 20 3 ‘Art is Sacred’ 23 4 ‘Art is Authentic’ 25 5 ‘Art is Superfluous and Remote’ 27 6 ‘Art Goes Against the Rules and so Adds to Cognition’ (Goodman) 28 7 ‘Artists Resemble Magicians’ (A personal view) 29 8 The Mythology of the Arts Influences the Economy of the Arts 30 9 Conclusion 32 2 The Denial of the Economy Why Are Gifts to the Arts Praised, While Market Incomes Remain Suspect? 34 1 The Arts Depend on Gifts and Trade 38 2 The Amount of Donations and Subsidies is Exceptional 40 3 ‘Art that is Given Must not be Sold’ 42 4 ‘The Market Devalues Art’ 44 5 The Arts Need the High Status of the Gift Sphere 46 6 The Economy in the Arts Is Denied and Veiled 47 7 A Dual Economy Requires Special Skills 48 8 Conclusion 50 5 Why are artisits poor? 02-04-2002 12:15 Pagina 5 3 Economic Value Versus Aesthetic Value Is There Any Financial Reward for Quality? 52 1 Aesthetic Value and Market Value Differ in Definition 55 2 ‘In the Market there is no Reward for Quality’ 56 3 Values are Shared 58 4 There is No Such Thing as a Pure Work of Art 60 5 Buyers Influence Market Value and Experts Aesthetic Value 62 6 Power Differences Rest on Economic, Cultural and Social Capital 64 7 In Mass Markets Quality and Sales Easily Diverge 66 8 The Strife for Cultural Superiority in the Visual Arts (An Example) 67 9 The Power of Words Challenges the Power of Money 69 10 The Government Transforms Cultural Power into Purchasing Power 70 11 Donors and Governments Know Best 73 12 Market Value and Aesthetic Value Tend to Converge in the Long Run 74 13 Conclusion 76 4 The Selflessly Devoted Artist Are Artists Reward-Oriented? 78 1 The Selfless Artist is Intrinsically Motivated 81 2 Rewards Serve as Inputs 83 3 Artists are Faced with a Survival Constraint 85 4 Autonomy is Always Relative 87 5 Intrinsic Motivation Stems from Internalization 88 6 Habitus and Field 90 7 Selfless Devotion and the Pursuit of Gain Coincide 92 8 Artists Differ in Their Reward-Orientation 94 9 Types and Sources of Rewards Matter to Artists 96 10 Three Examples of Orientation Towards Government Rewards in the Netherlands 99 11 Conclusion 101 5 Money for the Artist Are Artists Just Ill-Informed Gamblers? 103 1 Incomes in the Arts are Exceptionally High 106 2 Art Markets are Winner-Takes-All Markets 107 3 People Prefer Authenticity and are Willing to Pay for It 110 4 Incomes in the Arts are Exceptionally Low 111 5 Five Explanations for the Low Incomes Earned in the Arts 113 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Why are artisits poor? 02-04-2002 12:15 Pagina 6 6 Artists are Unfit for ‘Normal’ Jobs 115 7 Artists are Willing to Forsake Monetary Rewards 116 8 Artists are Over-Confident and Inclined to Take Risks 117 9 Artists are Ill-Informed 119 10 Conclusion 122 6 Structural Poverty Do Subsidies and Donations Increase Poverty? 124 1 Artists Have Not Always Been Poor 126 2 The Desire to Relieve Poverty in the Arts Led to the Emergence of Large-Scale Subsidization 128 3 Low Incomes are Inherent to the Arts 129 4 The Number of Artists Adjusts to Subsidy Levels 131 5 Subsidies in the Netherlands Have Increased the Number of Artists Without Reducing Poverty 132 6 Subsidies Are a Signal that Governments Take Care of Artists 136 7 Subsidies and Donations Intended to Alleviate Poverty Actually Exacerbate Poverty 137 8 Low-priced Education Signals that it is Safe to Become an Artist 140 9 Social Benefits Signal that it is Safe to Become an Artist 141 10 Artists Supplement Incomes with Family Wealth and Second Jobs 143 11 Artists Reduce Risks by Multiple Jobholding 144 12 Artists Could be Consumers rather than Producers 146 13 Is there an Artist ‘Oversupply’ or are Low Incomes Compensated For? 147 14 Conclusion 149 7 The Cost Disease Do Rising Costs in the Arts Make Subsidization Necessary? 152 1 ‘Artistic Quality Should Remain the Aspiration, Regardless of the Costs’ 154 2 ‘The Arts are Stricken by a Cost Disease’ 156 3 Technical Progress has Always been a Part of the Arts 158 4 There is no True Performance 160 5 The Taboo on Technical Innovation in Classical Music is a Product of the Times 162 6 The Cost Disease Contributes to Low Incomes while Internal Subsi- dization Contains the Cost Disease 164 7 There is no Limit to the Demand for Works of Art 167 8 Changing Tastes Can Also Cause Financial Problems 169 7TABLE OF CONTENTS Why are artisits poor? 02-04-2002 12:15 Pagina 7 9 Pop Music has Attractive Qualities that Classical Music Lacks 171 10 Subsidies and Donations Exacerbate the Cost Disease 174 11 Conclusion 178 8 The Power and the Duty to Give Why Give to the Arts? 181 1 Donors Receive Respect 183 2 Donors Have Influence and are Necessarily Paternalistic 186 3 Art Sublimates Power and Legitimizes the Donor’s Activities 188 4 Gifts Turn into Duties 191 5 Donations and Subsidies are Embedded in Rituals 193 6 Artists Give and Pay Tribute 194 7 Family and Friends Subsidize Artists 197 8 Private Donors Give to Street Artists as well as to Prestigious Art Institutions 199 9 Corporations and Private Foundations Support Art 200 10 Conclusion 201 9 The Government Serves Art Do Art Subsidies Serve the Public Interest or Group Interests? 203 1 Art Subsidies Need Reasons 206 2 ‘Art Subsidies are Necessary to Offset Market Failures’ 208 3 ‘Art has Special Merits and must be Accessible to Everyone’ 210 4 The Merit Argument has been Used Successfully 211 5 ‘Government Must Help Poor Artists’ 213 6 ‘Art is Public and the Government Must Intervene to Prevent Under- production’ 215 7 ‘Art Contributes to Economic Welfare and so Must be Supported’ 218 8 ‘Society Needs a Reserve Army of Artists and must therefore Support Art’ 219 9 Government Distorts Competition in the Arts 221 10 Self-Interest Hides Behind Arguments for Art Subsidies 224 11 The Art world Benefits from Subsidies 225 12 The Government is under Pressure to Subsidize the Arts 227 13 Conclusion 230 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS Why are artisits poor? 02-04-2002 12:15 Pagina 8 10 Art Serves the Government How Symbiotic Is the Relationship between Art and the State? 232 1 Governments Have Interests and Tastes 234 2 Art Appears to be Less Serviceable than it was during Monarchical Times 237 3 European Governments Carried on the Former Patronage 240 4 Veiled Display Serves Social Coherence 242 5 The Cultural Superiority of the Nation Needs Display 244 6 Government Taste Serves Display 248 7 Governments are Willing to Support the Arts 250 8 An Arts Experts Regime Harmonizes Government and Art World Interests 252 9 Conclusion 254 Appendix: Differences between Government Involvement in the Arts in the us and in Europe 255 11 Informal Barriers Structure the Arts How Free or Monopolized Are the Arts? 259 1 In other Professions Barriers Inform Consumers, Restrain Producers and Limit Competition 262 2 The Arts Resist a Formal Control of Numbers of Artists 263 3 In the Past Numbers of Artists were Controlled 265 4 Granting Certificates to Commercial Galleries in the Netherlands (An Example) 267 5 Characteristics of Informal Barriers 268 6 Informal Barriers Protect Collective Reputations 271 7 Innovations in the Arts are Protected and Indirectly Rewarded 272 8 The Arts are Structured and Developments are Controlled 274 9 The Risks of Some are Reduced at the Expense of Others 276 10 Conclusion 277 12 Conclusion: a Cruel Economy Why Is the Exceptional Economy of the Arts so Persistent? 280 1 The Economy of the Arts is an Exceptional Economy 282 2 Despite the Many Donations and Subsidies Incomes are Low in the Arts 283 3 A Grim Picture has been Drawn 284 4 Winners Reproduce the Mystique of the Arts 287 5 Society Needs a Sacred Domain 289 6 Future Scenarios with More or Less Subsidization 291 9TABLE OF CONTENTS Why are artisits poor? 02-04-2002 12:15 Pagina 9 [...]... ‘fine arts as they are called in the Anglo-Saxon countries or the ‘autonomous arts as they are called in mainland Western Europe In the applied arts, the surplus of artists is not as large and income is more reasonable In other words, the economy of the applied arts is not that exceptional The book analyzes the economy of the arts in mainland Western Europe, Britain and the usa A recurring focus in the. .. Art is a gift Artists are gifted Art serves the general interest Art is good for people Artists are autonomous; other professionals are not autonomous There is freedom of expression in the arts The work of art is authentic and the artist is the unique creator of it; in other professions such authenticity does not exist Creating authentic work gives one endless private satisfaction Artists are selflessly... talented artists Success in the arts depends on talent and commitment exclusively The arts are free The barriers that exist in other professions are absent in the arts Successful artists are often self-taught Given talent and commitment, equal chances exist in the arts; the best is victorious Because the best win, the arts are democratic and righteous The high incomes earned by some artists are fair...Epilogue: the Future Economy of the Arts 1 2 3 4 5 6 Is this Book’s Representation of the Economy of the Arts Outdated? 295 Signs of a Less Exceptional Economy of the Arts 295 Artists with New Attitudes Enter the Scene (1) 298 Artists with new Attitudes Enter the Scene (2) 300 ‘Art Becomes Demystified as Society Becomes More Rational’ 301 ‘Borders in and Around the Arts Disappear’ 303 ‘New... economist alike Therefore, this book proposes that the artist and economist join forces They will look down from the tenth floor together Because their knowledge and perspective can reinforce each other, they start to discern patterns in the arts economy This book tries to explain these patterns The most striking aspect in these patterns is the two-faced character of the economy of the arts The contrast... visible from outward signs On the one hand there is a world of splendor, of magnificent opera houses, chic openings, of artists earning very high incomes and of rich donors whose status is enhanced by their association with the arts On the other hand there is the large majority of artists earning little or nothing; often they lose money by working in the arts and make up for the losses by working in second... administrators and people working in arts- related jobs Because they are the ‘mediators’ between the arts and the rest of the world, they must be especially puzzled by the exceptional character of the economy of the arts I expect that they as well as students who intend to find arts- related work shall benefit most from my book This would apply to students following a variety of courses in cultural studies,... that the arts receive so many subsidies and donations? Or is the abundance of artists and their low incomes due to the fact that the arts receive donations and subsidies? Do artists who earn low incomes sacrifice themselves for their art, or are they being sacrificed by a system that pretends to support them? In this book I will study the causes and consequences of the pervasive gift sphere in the arts, ... comparing the economy of the arts in mainland Western Western Europe and the usa In many respects Britain fits in somewhere in the middle Therefore the book pays no separate attention to the economy of the arts in countries like Canada, Australia, or Japan Method and Form Letting the artist and economist join forces is easier said than done The culture of economists differs from the culture of artists, ... maintain.) In order to explain the pervasive gift sphere, I examine the artists motivations, attitudes in the art world, and the myths surrounding art The argument I advance in this book is that the economy of the arts is exceptional The impact of the mystique of the arts calls for a multidisciplinary approach Therefore, I will employ insights taken from sociology and psychology Nevertheless, my neoclassical . Abbing Why Are Artists Poor? The Exceptional Economy of the Arts Amsterdam University Pr e s s Most artists earn very little. Nevertheless, there is no shortage of aspiring young artists. Do they. Poor? Why are artisits poor? 02-04-2002 12:15 Pagina 1 Why are artisits poor? 02-04-2002 12:15 Pagina 2 Why Are Artists Poor? The Exceptional Economy of the Arts Hans Abbing Amsterdam University Press Why. Cruel Economy Why Is the Exceptional Economy of the Arts so Persistent? 280 1 The Economy of the Arts is an Exceptional Economy 282 2 Despite the Many Donations and Subsidies Incomes are Low in the Arts